‘Thursday’s referendum gave voters a sense of empowerment … and has proved that a people’s revolution is under way.’
Photograph: Ed Sykes/Reuters

The EU referendum has exposed the major schism between Labour and its core voters. The Labour party in Westminster struggled to reflect the language and aspirations of our traditional working-class communities. These Labour voters, aware of the long-term neglect of their voice and their aspirations, decided the result of the referendum. It should be no surprise to anyone that they chose to comfortably ignore the Labour call to vote remain.

This consensus crossed ethnic and racial divides, reinforced by the feeling of unfairness, shared by those with Commonwealth roots, at being discriminated against in the current immigration system. It created the perfect mix for rebellion. If it were not for the toxic cocktail that is Nigel Farage and his commentary, then even more people would have voted to leave a European Union they see as being in hock to the interests of multinational capital.

From the Laval and Viking European court of justice verdicts to the extraordinary tax rebate judgment that has required a £40bn contingency in government accounts, to add to the hundreds of millions already paid out to British American Tobacco and others, the EU is increasingly working to create a low-tax, cheap-labour flexible working society. Thursday rejected that vision of Europe.

Our most urgent priority now must be to reaffirm into UK law the EU legislation that protects workers’ rights. Britain’s working classes, through Thursday’s vote, rejected zero-hour contracts and agency working used to undercut their pay and instead, voted for a fairer workplace. Labour must ensure that paid holidays, controls over the length of working hours and maternity pay are quickly protected. No government is electable that chooses to ditch these rights, but my party must be the one to ensure this commitment emerges.

Thursday’s referendum gave voters a sense of empowerment, something that has been lacking in our democracy, and has proved that a people’s revolution is under way, with many voting for the first time or the first time in years. The EU referendum was above all a vote to renew our democracy and to take back control. But if powers return to Westminster, we must look to Westminster to reform.

Our 2015 manifesto committed the Labour party to an elected second chamber and we should work to bite the bullet on House of Lords reform and decentralise all repatriated EU regional assistance funding to local authorities. In particular, councils should be given extensive borrowing powers for house building and total control over planning applications for new housing.

In the forthcoming negotiations with the EU, it is Labour’s role to stand up for working people to ensure that the government delivers a deal that results in a fair immigration system and a trading market that strengthens consumers and businesses without giving undue power to the employer over the employee.

The Labour party needs to be bold, to reconnect with its core working-class voters and to insist that we have a seat at the table in these vital negotiations.

The result of the referendum must be a wake-up call for the Labour party. It is not possible for Labour to govern without the majority support of the working classes. This can only happen by meeting their realities and aspirations directly. It is not just listening that people want, but action.